The Prime Rib, Philadelphia May 29th 2011

Atmosphere: Large restaurant located within a hotel. It has an awkward entrance that opens up into the main eating hall and the bar. Very refined and old school vibe with Manhattans, sidecars and old fashion the drinks to order.

Service: 4 out of 5 spoons
Service was proper with a a great attention to detail. They provided proper presentation of all three courses without skipping a beat. Although the waiter failed to come back to fill continuous drink orders its hard to tell if it was the large group that slowed it down or what to expect from the service

Food: 3 out of 5 forks
Food Comments: Food was straight forward steakhouse with nothing that stood out. Felt that Morton's would be a comparable example of what to expect. Although Morton's service and food presentation are a lot more cleaner.

Appetizers:


( Mr.)

Main Lobster Bisque 10

Entree:

(Mr.)

Roast Prime rib signature cut 49

Dessert:

(Mr.)

None for me

Wine Paring: 2005 Silver Oak - 199 dollars



4 out of 5 corks Our recommendation is bring your own bottle and save on the mark-up. The menu demands a red wine.

Favorite dish (of Mr.):

Favorite dish (of Mrs.):

Cost: 140 per person with wine and cocktails (Tax and Tip Included)

About: Silver Oak

90% Cabernet Sauvignon
6% Merlot
3% Petit Verdot
1% Cabernet Franc

10 Arts Bistro, Philadelphia May 28th 2011 Ritz Carlton

Atmosphere: Large restaurant with open seating that flows into the late night bar. Very loud and rambunctious lively crowd even when we were located in the sectioned off corner room. Lots of suits and dress attire but all are welcomed into this restaurant.

Service: 3 out of 5 spoons
Service was slow and off pace. Food was delivered in various times and with various consistencies. The core group was really trying to please and tried to accommodate our wishes but the actual service was ATROCIOUS

Food: 3 out of 5 forks
Food Comments: Food felt bland and uninspired. Everything seemed to have been before in at a higher caliber. On our night we found out two sou chefs had quite and Jennifer was on her own. She graciously came to us at the end of the meal and apologized. SO HUMBLE but I wouldn't have expected anything less as my mac and cheese also contained a piece of plastic.

Appetizers:


( Mr.)

Honey Crisp Apple Salad

Mustard Greens, Toasted Walnuts, Apple Cider Vinaigrette 13
Entree:

(Mr.)

Pineland Farms NY Strip Steak

Potato & Butternut Gratin, Kale, Red Wine Jus 38


Dessert:

(Mr.)

Pear Crisp

pomegranate sauce , brown butter ice cream 10

Wine Paring: 2008 Merryvale Profile- 65 dollars

Can you believe that price. Here in San Francisco these bottles go for about 100 dollars . My surprise to find them at the wine shop for 65. Merryvale Profile is a well structured wine with more old world finesse then new world flavors. It is a Cabernet with fine finishes of Franc,Verdot and Malbec.


4 out of 5 corks Our recommendation is bring your own bottle and save on the mark-up. The menu demands a red wine and a local wine depot is about 2 blocks away.

Favorite dish (of Mr.): I think she is a great pastry chef.

Pear Crisp

pomegranate sauce , brown butter ice cream 10

Favorite dish (of Mrs.):

Cost: 90 per person with wine and cocktails (Tax and Tip Included)

About: Merryvale Profile

80% Cabernet Sauvignon
13% Petit Verdot
6% Malbec
1% Cabernet Franc

Profile is Merryvale’s flagship red Bordeaux blend showcasing the very best fruit from each vintage. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from our St. Helena Estate Vineyard, which was planted ten years ago under the direction of our winemaking team, Michel Rolland and David Abreu, who still farms the vineyards for us. This now fully mature vineyard is giving us some of the most complex and concentrated fruit in the Napa Valley.

After undergoing extended maceration and a cold fermentation, we aged Profile for 20 months in 90% new French Oak barrels. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Wayfare Tavern 4/28/11

Atmosphere: Large restaurant with two stories of limited seating. Very loud and rambunctious lively crowd even at our 10pm reservation. Lots of suits and dress attire but all are welcomed into Tyler Florence's comfort food palace.

Service: 5 out of 5 spoons
Service was fantastic and never missed a beat. Their cosmopolitans with the bourbon ed cherries added exceptional detail to the perfect aperitif cocktail.

Food: 4 out of 5 forks
Food Comments: Great food executed in harmony with the ingredients that were used. It was a well orchestrated symphony throughout the dinner with some hiccups and experiments gone awry.

Appetizers:


( Mr./Mrs.)
CHILLED MAINE LOBSTER - HALF - 18/WHOLE - 30
lemon garlic butter

Entree:

(Mr.)
STEAK FRITES - Santa Maria tri-tip, truffle butter, watercress and French fried potatoes - 27

( Mrs.)
ORGANIC FRIED CHICKEN - buttermilk brine, roasted garlic, crisp woody herbs, lemon - 22

Dessert:

(Mr./Mrs.)
FINANCIER CAKE
honey thyme ice cream, fresh cherries, candied thyme

Wine Paring: 2008 Leviathan- 95 dollars

Although we drank this bottle way to young. It was a terrific assertive and delicious red. That is spicy wonderfully textured red with a taste of anise, plum, spice, tobacco leaf and cedary/oak finish.



4 out of 5 corks Our recommendation is bring your own bottle and save on the mark-up. The menu demands a red wine. Although many beautiful selection on the menu. It is worthwhile to stop on the way to the restaurant

Favorite dish (of Mr.): ORGANIC FRIED CHICKEN - The exceptional brine on this chicken makes it completely moist on the inside with a great crust on the outside. It is incredible comfort food.

Favorite dish (of Mrs.):ORGANIC FRIED CHICKEN-

Cost: 90 per person with wine and cocktails (Tax and Tip Included)

About: Leviathan

40% Cabernet Franc
30% Cabernet Sauvignon
16% Syrah
14% Merlot

Leviathan is a wonderful red wine from one of the most prominent wine makers in Napa Valley, Andy Erickson. He is the former winemaker at both Harlan estate and Screaming Eagle. Both of these bottles of wine would cost you more for a dozen bottles of his latest venture leviathan. But don't think that he didn't put great time and energy into this great product as well. Although we drank this bottle way to young. It was a terrific assertive and delicious red. That is spicy wonderfully textured red with a taste of anise, plum, spice, tobacco leaf and cedary/oak finish.